Charles suddenly felt the need to do something and closed his eyes. "Mother, here I am." He said clearly pronounced, and his mother stopped her chanting, looking around like a lot child.

"My daughter, my Tsukiko?" She asked and Charles felt the anger welling up inside her, but now was not the time.

"Yes mommy here I am, could you help me?" innocent, she made every effort to sound happy, sweet, soft and innocent, innocent like Tsukiko had been.

"Sure Tsukiko, sure I can help you." she said and went to her. "You are still here, right, where is Miko?"

Charles knew there was no stepping back now. "Miko, Miko is well and fine, she got adopted by a rich family, she is now wearing Kimonos every day and getting lot and lots to eat, remember."

Her mother stilled, for a brief moment she feared she would actually notice, actually not fall for it. "Truly, I cannot seem to remember, but then my memory has always been bad, right Tsukiko?"

"jep mommy, don't worry, all is fine, can you lose me up, we have to buy something to eat, you remember that rich family gave little Miko lots of money, and she sent all of it to us?".

"Yes, of course, if you say so, my treasure." Her mother loosened her and hugged her tightly. Charles gulped when he was hugged by her, he felt the blood on her skin, and locked himself up, hugging her back softly.

"Yes mommy, now it is just us two. We will be fine, Miko will not forget us, she will send us more money, and then we can go and leave the capital, go to life in a village and be happy." she stretched out her hands, "very, very fortunate." 

"I see, I see, we will, we will be very happy, then I need to learn how to cook and once I can do that I can buy some fabric, and we can make our own Kimonos."

"Yep embroidered ones, with pretty flowers and fishes on it, you know." she said and her mother, eyes glazed just nodded at that and smiled at the picture Charles knew that moment she had accepted, she wanted it, so she would accept it." We will be very happy, mommy." she said and clutched her fists. "Very, extremely happy, I will make sure of that."

Her mother nodded and started talking about all the things she wanted to do, like a child, like a fragile little child, broken. Charles nodded and threw in every once in a while threw in something funny and sweet.

No, it is Tsukiko now, Charles will no longer be.

The first thing she did was dragging away the rug they used and taking out the money. Trembling, she took her sister and rolled her up inside the carped before he went to the two people she killed and stilled.

She needed help for that.

But there is no one to ask....who cares anyway.

Turning she turned around. "Mommy, we have to get that rug, we have choppers now we need to carry it outside to a tree, a big tree, a cherry tree." she said. "One that blooms prettily in spring."

Her mother blinked at her, and she smiled at her. Her mother rose to her feet, and Tsukiko watched how she lifted the carped with her dead daughter wrapped up inside her easily. It spoke for how small, how starved down and how far to light the real Tsukiko had been. Her mother was still half naked.

I need to...

"Mommy, could you come down a moment." she said, and her mother smiled back just as sweet going down on her knees and Tsukiko, the false one, went forward and kissed her cheek lovingly while tucking the loose clothing her mother wore, so it covered her, or at least covered the important bits. Taking her mother's hand in one hand and the money hidden underneath her sleeve clutched in her other, they walked out of the slums. The bloody appearance keeping off the worst and Tsukiko did not hold back. All the bloodthirstiness, all the pressure and anger she had once had, radiated to the outside full force. They walked out of the slums that day, Carefully she had her mother put down her older sister and continued telling stories as she digged a hole with her bare hands and laid her sister into the sallow opening next to the cherry tree.

"Sleep well Tsukiko-nee-san." she muttered and clapped her hands before going on to bury her sister, still wrapped in a rug.